July 18, 2011

THE MANOS THAT ROCK THE CRADLE:

Meet the Fútbol Moms: Latina mothers are America’s hottest demographic, and a new website aims to give them the Oprah treatment. Bryan Curtis on the soccer mamis—and their power in 2012. (Bryan Curtis, Jul 17, 2011, Daily Beast)

Read the 2010 Census and you realize something is changing about America. It’s our moms. Over the last decade, 56 percent of the nation’s population growth has been driven by Latinos. In states like Texas, Latinos made up a whopping 65 percent of growth. America’s national mom, you might say, is becoming a Latina mom.

That’s the provocative argument of Mamiverse, a new website that launches Monday. Mamiverse wants to be for Latinas what Oprah Winfrey was for African Americans: a pal, a spiritual adviser, and, more subtly, an image-changer. In period when American-born Latinas have been caught in the national freakout about “border security,” Mamiverse offers them a new spokeswoman. She’s a particular kind of Latina mom—an English-speaking, All-American gal. “The young, acculturated, affluent, online Latina is speaking English, and is imbibing media in English,” says Rene Alegria, the site’s 36-year-old founder and CEO.

Alegria wants Mom benevolent and wise; skeptical and demanding—to lead the political conversation. “We’re rebranding our community,” he says.